Developing cultural infrastructure
Creating a productive and sustainable place to work
“Do you want to save democracy?”
This is the question that captivates so many, piquing their interest about joining the DNC Tech Team. It was certainly the inquiry that hooked me three years ago, as I was exploring my next career opportunity.
With teammates who are leaders in academia, politics, and technology, the DNC Tech Team is united by the mission to build technological infrastructure and data products to help Democrats up and down the ballot win elections in this cycle, and those to come.
And while the breadth of backgrounds at DNC Tech breeds diversity in perspective, the team must also consider strict budget constraints, non-negotiable timelines, and of course, differing opinions. As such, we have had to be thoughtful about establishing an effective and sustainable culture.
As chief of staff for the Tech Team, I play many roles — one of the most important is identifying areas our team can work more collaboratively, effectively, and enjoyably. To me, this work parallels our technological work. We want to build the cultural infrastructure of the DNC Tech Team so that the team thrives beyond a single election cycle.
Before I dive into specific areas we’ve focused on cultural development, here is a quick overview of our team:
- Over the last 3 years, our team has grown from 15 to over 60 team members.
- 40% of our team comes from politics, 30% from the tech industry, 30% from other industries including academia, finance, and government.
- Our staff is 43% female, and 28% people of color
- Our stakeholders include presidential campaigns, Democratic state parties, Sister Committees (like DAGA, DLCC, DCCC, DSCC), the DNC’s teams, and voters.
In the last three years, we’ve focused on three key areas in order to develop a sustainable culture. This is not to say that we have everything figured out. Instead, we are continually trying to improve how we work as a team.
Establishing a remote team to attract top tier talent
While the majority of the DNC is based in D.C., 75% of the DNC Tech Team is based elsewhere in the United States (in 22 states).
In 2017, Chair Perez made establishing a top-tier tech team one of his highest priorities. In order to do so, Chair Perez and DNC Tech leadership decided to make the DNC Tech Team remote. This has enabled us to attract talent from the tech industry, academia, and politics that we otherwise may not have been able to access.
Speaking a common language & appreciating diverse perspectives
The members of the DNC Tech Team come from diverse career backgrounds. While this is one of our greatest strengths, it can also create friction.
People with political or organizing backgrounds don’t necessarily know what “sprints” are (short time-boxed periods of development) or what a “scrum” is (agile framework of development). Likewise, people from the tech industry may not know what “hard money” is (political donations regulated by the Federal Election Commission) or what “canvassing” is (a form of direct contact with voters).
Language matters. At times it can create a wall between individuals on the team.
There are a few things that have helped:
- Establishing cross-functional teams in which people of diverse industry backgrounds collaborate. This helps team members appreciate the unique perspective each of their coworkers bring.
- Avoiding jargon. Politics and tech are both very jargon-filled ecosystems. Where possible, we try to speak without buzzwords. This can be very difficult, of course — un-learning a language is always a challenge, and is definitely something we are still working on.
- Asking questions without ego. We strive to normalize asking questions about the “basics.” We’ve aimed to create an environment where people feel comfortable asking about the terminology they do not understand.
- Focusing on the mission. Keeping our mission on the forefront of our minds and conversations helps unite the team.
Establishing institutional memory
Within politics, it is typical to see high rates of turnover after each election cycle. It is also a very fast-paced environment, with immovable deadlines. These factors can result in having little institutional memory.
To help address this, over the last three years, we’ve focused on documenting our work both for our users and for the future members of the DNC Tech Team.
Examples of this include:
- Documenting protocols for outages
- Creating run-books for processes
- Producing high quality external and internal documentation about the data, tools, and products we release.
With a remote team, documentation is even more important as it enables people to work more productively and asynchronously. You can read more about our user-facing documentation in this post.
Evolving and sustaining a culture
“Do you want to save democracy?” might be what hooks someone, but it is the culture of the team that encourages people to invest their time, talent, and energy in the DNC Tech Team.
That culture takes intentional and continual development. Establishing a remote team, encouraging appreciation for diverse backgrounds, and focusing on developing an institutional memory has made us a more effective and sustainable team.
While we’ve made big improvements in the last three years, the work of cultural development is always ongoing. However, it is through this continued focus that we’re able to create a lasting culture so that the DNC can be a place of innovation for Democrats up and down the ballot for many election cycles to come.
To close, I’ve got one question for you… Do you want to save democracy? Join us.
